Daily Mail - 29.08.2019

Daily Mail, Thursday, August 29, 2019 Page 31

Police of fer

free driving

lessons for

drug dealers

YOUNG drug dealers are

being offered driving

lessons, boxing sessions and

job training instead

of prosecution.

The police scheme – the first of

its kind in Britain – is an attempt

to end the ‘revolving door’ of

reoffending by giving criminals a

chance of education and work.

Its supporters said it could help

stop youngsters falling into the

‘county lines’ gangs that plague the

country. Critics said the scheme

risked rewarding criminality.

Youngsters caught drug dealing

will be able to avoid going to court

under the ‘Call-In’ scheme in Bris-

tol. They must be between the ages

was a risk they could reoffend dur-

ing the six to nine-month period but

said it was a risk the force was will-

ing to take.

The force said the pilot project

would be subject to independent

academic evaluation to assess

whether it was sustainable and had

reduced drug dealing activity.

David Raynes, of the National

Drug Prevention Alliance, said it

was an imaginative scheme.

He added: ‘It is an attempt to cap-

ture indolent youth and get them

doing something else. For young-

sters this makes some sort of sense

• but the police and others will have
  to put a lot of effort into it.
  ‘So long as they are judiciously
  applying it to really small-scale
  beginner dealers then breaking the
  cycle would be a good thing.’
  But David Green, chief executive
  of think-tank Civitas, said any edu-
  cation or rehabilitation should hap-
  pen alongside prosecution.
  ‘It’s sending out the message that
  the police are not serious about
  enforcing the law against drug deal-
  ing,’ he added.
  ‘Drug dealers should, generally
  speaking, be punished severely.
  ‘Taking them off the streets pro-
  tects the public from them and acts
  as a deterrent to others.
  ‘I’m all for people inside prison
  pursuing educational remedies
  which help them lead a law-abiding
  life on release.’
  The scheme, which is based on a
  project in the US, is featured in a
  BBC News Channel documentary
  named Beyond The Frontline which
  will be broadcast tomorrow.

By Jemma Buckley

Crime Correspondent

Don’t laugh, Chucklevision’s

been voted best CBBC show

‘Put in a lot

of effort’

IT MAY not be the best

children’s TV show to me, or

indeed, to you.

But Chucklevision has been

voted the greatest CBBC series

of all time in a Radio Times poll.

The slapstick comedy beat clas-

sic programmes including Blue

Peter and Byker Grove to the

title. More than 3,000 people

voted for Chuckle Brothers Paul

and Barry Elliott’s hit show.

Chucklevision spanned 22 years

and had recorded 292 episodes by

the time it finished in 2009.

It saw Paul and Barry face

amusing and farcical situations,

and made famous their catch-

phrase: ‘To me, to you.’ Barry

died aged 73 last year after bat-

tling bone cancer. Paul Elliott, 71,

said of the vote: ‘In the words of

me and Barry... “From Me – To

You”. Thank you as you have all

helped put Chucklevision where

it belongs, at Number One!’

The CBBC brand – which simply

stands for ‘Children’s BBC’ – has

existed since 1985 for programmes

aimed at children aged six to 12,

though it only gained its own ded-

icated TV channel in 2002.

Tim Glanfield, from Radio

Times, said Paul and Barry were

‘one of the first introductions to

comedy for British children’.

By Alisha Rouse

Showbusiness Correspondent

1. Chucklevision


2. The Story of Tracy Beaker


3. Dick and Dom in da
   Bungalow


4. Horrible Histories


5. The Sarah Jane Adventures
   6. Blue Peter
   7. Byker Grove
   8. Grange Hill
   9. Maid Marian and Her
   Merry Men
   10. The Demon Headmaster

The top 10 of children’s TV

of 16 and 21 and not have convic-

tions for violent or sexual crimes.

Participants will be offered the

chance to take part in free fitness

clubs, workshops, motivational

events, work placements and inten-

sive one-to-one mentoring.

Funded partly by the city council,

the scheme also offers non-contact

boxing lessons to help with fitness

and anger management as well as

driving lessons to help with job

prospects.

Detective Superintendent Gary

Haskins of Avon and Somerset

Police said most of the youngsters

involved had only dabbled in deal-

ing. ‘Why not give them a chance?’

he said. ‘What is there to lose?

‘We send them to prison and we’ll

see them again.’ He admitted there

V1

Pair of

jokers!

Barry, left,

and Paul

Elliott as

the Chuckle

Brothers